Learning | Appreciating | Reconnecting …. with Our World. We are part of it!

WATER : We never know its worth until the well is dry.” ~ Julie Hancher

From elephantjournal: When I was only four or five years old, I was trained to just rinse my toothbrush at the beginning of brushing my teeth and after I was finished.

Running the water throughout the duration of getting my pearly whites clean never even crossed my mind. In recent years as I’ve grown more aware of my water footprint, I didn’t understand how saving water in my hometown of Philadelphia was relevant to Africa’s dire need of water.

We learned it in third grade science—doesn’t water come into your faucets, go back into the ground and evaporate for us to reuse? It’s the ultimate renewable resource, and we’ve been drinking the same water that the dinosaurs drank. If T-rex survived (until a meteor hit), why should we panic?

We live in such an ironic time. In many ways, we’ve grown accustomed to unpronounceable chemicals in our household items and beauty products, not knowing what’s in our food and accepting company-suggested medicines and lifestyles as truth. However, there’s also a movement that’s aware of what we’re doing to ourselves and trying to resist change to go back to the ‘old’ ways.

Water is the essential piece of life that we all depend on and need.

Yet we’ve taken advantage of this resource by bottling it in plastic, hoarding it for cheap fashion and material objects and taken millions of gallons of it to extract natural gas from the earth. Sometimes I feel as if I’m taking crazy pills that no one connects the dots of all of these actions, considering the potential consequences.

As World Water Day is approaching (observed on March 22nd) to promote initiatives for the world’s water sources, it’s important that we reflect on the dangers to our most valuable resource.

Mountaintop removal coal mining is Appalachia pollutes the streams and rivers, making them dangerous for fish, aquatic life and humans. The mountaintop removal process releases toxic metals like cadmium, selenium, arsenic and others, leading to higher incidents of cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, birth defects, premature morality and other issues.

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. ~ Thomas Fuller

What can we do about it? It’s crucial that we are start in our own homes, observing where the biggest water wastes come from. We don’t have to wash every piece of clothing after wearing it once or wash our hair every shower. Perhaps homeowners will think twice before digging their own swimming pool, instead joining a local community club.

Outside threats from companies, oil and gas industry and more continue to threaten our water supply, and it’s essential to vote with our dollars and communicate with political representatives. But let’s all start by looking in the mirror.

4 thoughts on “WATER : We never know its worth until the well is dry.” ~ Julie Hancher”

Reblogged this on Friend Nature and commented:
Water! ‘Learn From Nature’ offers ways you can implement change in your life. Please read these suggestions. Some simple ideas to use this valuable resource! Thank You! Friend Nature

This scares me to death! I’ve blogged about climate change, World Water Day and the insidious practice of Fracking. This is an excellent article! I saw it on Friend Nature. Reblogged on MyDailyMinefield.